It's a Strike!

"Unions: the people who brought you the weekend. And capped working hours. And employment rights and protections. And fair wages. And pensions. And ended child labour. What a bunch of greedy bastards." - Priyamvada Gopal

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When I walked into uni today, one of my lecturers handed me a sticker and thanked me for my support. He’s striking, along with over two million other public sector workers, to fight the cuts against pensions. It’s the biggest nationwide strike in decades with numerous different unions objecting to the government’s proposal which will see people working longer, and paying more to receive their pension.

Normally I see strikes as quite a nuisance, resulting in little change and mass inconvenience to many hundreds of people; the Southampton bin-men walkout for example achieved nothing but a huge pest infestation and a revolting smell in my street. However today, I see them as nothing of the sort and believe that action, not talking, is the only way for workers to get what they want. The government is not unlikely to rethink and actually listen otherwise.

Teachers provide us with an education and a subsequent future, ambulance men and women save our lives and airport staff allow us to travel the world, and all do it whilst paying their taxes. Without question, these people have contributed to society so surely they have the right to a decent pension? The same goes for everybody else; if you’ve worked hard in your lifetime then you should have the right to a happy and secure retirement, not one spent endlessly worrying about money.

If I had started a job as a teacher and signed on the dotted line for a specific pension, at the end of my career then that pension is what I would expect. It shouldn’t be cut. It would be what I am rightfully entitled to.

Some officials believe that the cuts are inevitable; that the money saved will help with Britain’s ever-growing debt problem but it seems like nothing more than a quick-fix scheme that, in the long run is going to leave many retired people struggling. Besides, in recent years there have been plenty of things we could have saved money on, for example a £500,000 ‘Bat Bridge’. We could have saved a lot by not ever building that at all.

Like many people, I’m often guilty of shunning a protest before I really know the reasons behind it but if striking is the only way of getting a message across in this instance then so be it. It doesn’t mean that I’ll condone every future protest, but I’ll make an exception for this one because it’s a matter that could potentially affect my future too.

Actions speak louder than words and I hope David Cameron listens.